Police deploy pepper spray as Netanyahu protesters converge on Capitol

WASHINGTON ? A crowd chanting "free Palestine,” “stop bombing Gaza,” and “Netanyahu you can’t hide” gathered Wednesday outside the U.S. Capitol building to protest the visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and to discourage Congress from further funding Israel's war in Gaza.

As the demonstration grew, Capitol Police deployed pepper spray to some of the protesters, saying "part of the crowd has started to become violent." Outside Union Station, demonstrators burned at least one U.S. flag and replaced the ones flying at Columbus Circle with Palestinian flags before authorities removed those.

Netanyahu began addressing a joint session of Congress a few minutes after 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, getting a warm reception from the legislators in attendance, though dozens boycotted his appearance.

The invitation to speak, extended by House Speaker Mike Johnson, had drawn criticism from those outraged by Israel's invasion of Gaza, which health authorities there say has killed almost 40,000 residents of the battered enclave.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein spoke to a crowd that stretched for several blocks in front of the Capitol, one of multiple protests against Netanyahu and the war across Washington. Stein, in a comment directed at lawmakers, said, “How dare you invite this criminal,” and called for a cease-fire.“We will free Palestine together,” she said to a roar of cheers and applause from a crowd in the thousands.

Rama Kased, a 44-year-old Bay Area resident and member of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, told USA TODAY Wednesday night that a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters were holding a "noise demonstration" outside of Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu was staying.

Kased said she flew to Washington D.C. for the protest to show Netanyahu and others "complicit in the genocide on Palestine" that they were not welcome in the U.S.

"I think they got the message," Kased said.

Photos and videos posted to social media showed a sketch of Netanyahu’s face projected onto the hotel building Wednesday night, accompanied with the words: “WANTED” and “ARREST WAR CRIMINAL NETANYAHU," as protesters waved Palestinian flags and played music.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed road closures near the Watergate Hotel were still in place late Wednesday, but streets around the Capitol were open.

Protesters at Capitol: Target Netanyahu address to Congress

Developments:

? The crowd erupted in cheers when speakers thanked Democratic lawmakers who decided not to attend Netanyahu’s speech. Among those absent were former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fellow congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senators Bernie Sanders, Patty Murray and Dick Durbin. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was not in attendance either, citing a previous commitment.

? U.S. Palestinian Community Network Chair Hatem Abudayyeh told USA TODAY a crowd of roughly 1,500 demonstrators rallied in Chicago’s Federal Plaza Wednesday afternoon in solidarity with the Washington D.C. protest.

? Organizers on a stage outside the Capitol said at least six nearby intersections were “occupied” by protesters.

Protesters pepper-sprayed outside Capitol, arrested inside

USA TODAY reporters counted at least 10 demonstrators who were pepper-sprayed as law enforcement officers cleared the intersection of First Street and Constitution Avenue across from the Capitol because of what police called violent behavior. Groups of protesters poured water on the eyes and faces of those who were pepper-sprayed.

"The crowd failed to obey our order to move back from our police line,'' Capitol Police said on the X platform. "We are deploying pepper spray towards anyone trying to break the law and cross that line.''

Police also said six demonstrators were removed from the House Gallery and arrested after disrupting Netanyahu's speech. "Disrupting the Congress and demonstrating in the Congressional Buildings is against the law,'' a police posting said.

Flag, statues vandalized at Union Station Plaza

Several hundred protesters gathered in the early afternoon at Union Station Plaza, just a short walk from the Capitol, and some of them replaced American flags flying there with Palestinian ones. Witnesses said at least one of the American flags was burned.

Demonstrators also spray-painted “FREE GAZA” on multiple statues in the square, also known as Columbus Circle, as well over 100 police officers guarded the station. A couple of hours later, the Palestinian flags were brought down.

The U.S. Park Police posted a statement on social media before 4 p.m. ET warning a crowd at the plaza was "engaged in criminal activity and confronting law enforcement.'' Later, as agitators yelled at police, a subsequent statement said the gathering's permit had been revoked and urged protesters to leave.

The Metropolitan Police Department said late Wednesday that officers arrested a total of nine protesters – five for blocking traffic, two for assaulting an officer, and two for crossing a police line.

Hours after Netanyahu finished his speech, a crowd of more than 100 demonstrators continued chanting “End the occupation now” and “Bibi out of D.C. now” in John Marshall Park, just east of the Capitol.Most protesters were clad in red shirts and black-and-white keffiyehs, the head coverings known as a symbol of the Palestinian struggle. The size of the crowd had dwindled greatly by 5:30 p.m. ET.

Protesters traveling from Georgia, Illinois

Stein spoke at a rally organized by the anti-war group ANSWER Coalition along with several partner groups. ANSWER coordinated buses to transport protesters from as far as Illinois and Atlanta for the demonstration, according to its website. The group encouraged attendees to wear red to form a "red line" around the Capitol building.

Another protest was organized by UnXeptable, a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu movement of Israelis founded in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the group’s website.

Police officers from multiple agencies patrolled the area around the Capitol, and a helicopter flew overhead as the crowd, led by various speakers, chanted and waved Palestinian flags and signs.

Father of Israeli hostage: Netanyahu is a 'criminal' and 'traitor'

Yehuda Cohen has a personal stake in his nonstop advocacy for an immediate ceasefire, the end of the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages. Cohen’s son, Nimrod Cohen, 20, a soldier with the Israeli military, was captured in the early hours of Oct. 7 as he rushed toward the Gaza border to repel Hamas’ attack.

To Cohen, one man stands between him and his son’s return home – Netanyahu. "I think he's a criminal," Cohen said at Wednesday's rally near the Capitol. "He's a traitor."

Cohen said he asked Netanyahu what Hamas was demanding in exchange for the hostages' return during a meeting with the prime minister in Jerusalem several months ago. Netanyahu said Hamas wanted Palestinian prisoners released, a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and safe passage for Palestinians back to northern Gaza. "I said, 'OK, what's the big deal?'" Cohen said.

More than nine months into the war, an agreement to free the hostages has not be reached.

Protester from Richmond: 'I had to show up'

David Snead, 46, took the day off work and joined a group of ANSWER protesters on a bus from Richmond, Va., to have his voice heard. Snead, who has not attended any protests since the war broke out, said it’s “unconscionable” that Netanyahu was invited to speak before lawmakers.

Snead, referencing the International Criminal Court prosecutor requesting arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other top Israel and Hamas officials on charges of war crimes, said Netanyahu should appear at the ICC court in The Hague, not in front of lawmakers at the Capitol.

“When I saw he would be here, I knew I had to show up,” the bookkeeper said. “It’s so great to see hundreds of other people like me, workers who took the day off, to show Netanyahu and the U.S. government that we don’t support this genocide.”

Demonstrator hopes protests spur resolution

Yoram Ariely, 81, said he was at the UnXeptable rally to advocate for the end of the war, progress toward a two-state solution and for right-wing “extremists” in Israel’s government to leave the country. Ariely, who is Israeli, drove five hours to Philadelphia from his home in upstate New York and hopped a train from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. He felt obligated to contribute in solidarity with his native country.

“So many friends of mine in Israel are protesting every week,” he said. Ariely said Netanyahu puts his self interest ahead of all else. The prime minister is trying “to save his skin at the expense of the whole country,” he said.

“The massacre in Gaza … is horrible,” he said. The widespread protests in support of Gaza “might change the direction that the U.S. government and president are taking,” he added. “Maybe they'll exert more pressure on Israel to come to some sort of a solution.”

Susan Sarandon: Don't normalize genocide

Actresses Susan Sarandon, speaking at the ANSWER rally, called on people “to reject the normalization of genocide.” She read off a list of death tolls of health care workers, journalists and U.N. staff.

“We hear you and will raise your voices,” she and the crowd said in unison to the people in Gaza.

Sarandon has been outspoken against the war in Gaza for months. Last year, she was dropped from a Hollywood talent agency after speaking at a pro-Palestinian rally.

Israeli expats rally against 'Bibi'

A small group of demonstrators holding Israeli flags and chanting “Bibi, Bibi, bring them home,” and “Netanyahu’s got to go,” gathered at a park north of the Capitol building on Wednesday afternoon. The protest was organized by UnXeptable, a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu movement of Israelis founded in the San Francisco area, according to the group’s website.The group called on “all who care about Israel’s future as a liberal and democratic state” to declare Netanyahu “persona non grata,” demonstrators wrote online. Protesters also demanded the release of Israeli prisoners still held by Hamas in Gaza and the end of the “divisiveness, culture of corruption and fear-mongering,” perpetrated by Netanyahu, according to the group.

Protester: Gaza war is 'in no one's interest'

Conor Hammonds and his mother, Jackie Dyer, drove from Baltimore to D.C. to protest the war in Gaza and the way Netanyahu and the U.S. government have handled the conflict. Hammond’s sister worked in Gaza for two years with Catholic Relief Services and left months before the war broke out, though she still has close friends in the bombarded enclave.

Dyer said the U.S. government’s support of Israel’s far-right government is a “desecration of what this country stands for.” The two said they hope for a cease fire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel.

“This war is in no one’s interest,” Dyer, 63, said.

The protests began Tuesday, when Capitol Police said about 200 demonstrators were arrested for "crowding, obstructing or incommoding" inside the Cannon House Office Building. Protesters demonstrated outside Netanyahu's hotel Tuesday night, chanting, waving Palestinian flags and projecting an image of Netanyahu onto the building captioned with the words "WANTED" and "ARREST NETANYAHU."

Rabbi group, Israeli expats hold separate protests

A group called T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, held a prayer service and protest Wednesday morning near Union Station in downtown Washington. The "spiritual, soulful, and song-full prayer space" was also a call for an end to the war, a release of all hostages, and an end to the occupation, the group said on its website.

UnXeptable, an organization of Israeli expatriates, was holding a protest on Capitol Hill at noon. "Netanyahu represents a danger to the state, to its democracy, to the hostages and to peace in the entire region," the group said on its website.

Some congressional interns show solidarity

A "diverse coalition" of more than 100 interns anonymously signed a letter denouncing Netanyahu's visit.

"As interns, we are united in our moral and ethical concerns regarding Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions and policies in Gaza," says the letter, which accused Netanyahu of "obstructing ceasefire negotiations, hindering humanitarian aid, and targeting civilian infrastructure." It blames his policies for the "catastrophic humanitarian crises."

Nation's capital increases security, closes roads

Capitol Police, charged with safeguarding Congress and its buildings, closed roads around the U.S. Capitol and added more officers, including from outside agencies, to patrol and monitor the crowds. Police said in a statement they expected a big crowd and warned that it is illegal to attempt to cross an established police line or barrier.

"The department respects everyone’s First Amendment rights, however all demonstrations must be done peacefully and legally," Capitol Police said in a statement.

The Metropolitan Police Department, which serves the city, also announced road closures, limited public parking and tightened security through most of the week. Some public tours have been rerouted and police have warned of traffic delays, citing the "dignitary visit."

NYPD sends officers to help with DC protests

More than 200 New York City police officers have been sent to Washington to help provide security during the protests. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said the NYPD providing some of its most highly trained officers at the request of Capitol police.

"These officers ... will use their knowledge and expertise to assist our law enforcement partners in DC," Chell said in a social media post. "No matter the task, no matter the assignment, no matter how far from home, your NYPD will answer the call and ensure the public is safe and that democracy is protected.

200 arrested in protest on eve of Netanyahu address

On Tuesday, a few hundred members of the group Jewish Voice for Peace descended on the rotunda of the Cannon House office building to protest the war and demand a cease-fire. The demonstrators chanted slogans and had signs with messages such as "Jews to Congress: Stop Arming Israel'' and "Let Gaza Live.''

In a string of social media posts, the group said it refused to "sit by as our government facilitates and defends" Israel's war.

"As the daily horrors against Palestinians in Gaza escalate, so too will our resolve and commitment to stand with Palestinians," the post said. "We continue to demand: STOP ARMING ISRAEL!"

Capitol police said in a statement that demonstrations are not allowed inside congressional buildings.

"We told the people, who legally entered, to stop or they would be arrested," the statement said. "They did not stop, so we are arresting them."

Labor unions petition White House demanding peace

Seven labor unions totaling millions of members sent a letter Tuesday to the White House demanding a truce in Gaza and for the U.S. to stop supplying weapons to Israel. The signatories included the Association of Flight Attendants, American Postal Workers Union, International Union of Painters, National Education Association, Service Employees International Union, United Electrical Workers and United Auto Workers.

The United Auto Workers is based in Michigan, home to the biggest percentage and second largest number of Arab Americans in the country. Michigan is also considered one of a handful of crucial "swing states" that could tip the 2024 presidential election.

"Workers, students, and people from all walks of life will be at the Capitol (on Wednesday) to issue a warrant of arrest to war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu," the group said in a social media post. "We will see you there! Don't miss this!"

In addition, several aid groups and other organizations have partnered to launch a mobile billboard that will drive around Washington on Wednesday with the message: “No more bombs for Netanyahu.”

Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Netanyahu visit, speech to Congress spark protests of thousands